Escapism In "Ready Player One"
Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopian 2040s, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality game, the discovery of which will lead him to inherit the game creator's fortune. Escapism is defined as "the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy", and video games, especially the growing genre of VR or "virtual reality" gaming, is often used as a literal example of escapism; which is why it comes as no surprise that Ernest Cline's novel "Ready Player One" explores this theme/concept heavily. Escapism is a prominent theme throughout Cline's novel, though it is never explicitly mentioned by any of the characters, and serves as a sort of dual-edged sub-commentary on the book's own contents, as well as a cautionary tale to its readers. Although the book seems like a shrine to 1980's through early 2000's pop culture, as well the fanboy culture surrounding those era(s), and possibly fanboy pop culture in general, the novel also poses an paradoxical, anthithetical theme to this praise by subtly proposing their toxicity as well. Ernest Cline simultaneously captures the joy of video games, music, and everything in between while also condemning people's possible unhealthy obsessions with these same forms of escapism. The theme of Escapism presents itself in many different ways throughout the book, some subtler than others. It is usually tied into the story itself conceptually rather than being tackled head on, but certain prominent features of the book are heavily tied to Escapism. For exmaple, Anorak, better known as James Halliday, hints heavily to the toxicities of Escapism in his final dialogue with Parzival/Wade, urging Wade to find happiness in the real world because the OASIS couldn't offer that; thus alluding to one of the foundational concepts of Escapism, it being that any form of recreational escapism should be limited, because forming a habit of escaping from our problems often times makes those problems worse. And interestingly enough, each member of the High Five manifests Escapism in their own way, past the obvious analogy that they all use the Oasis to escape, as most other people on the planet are doing throughout the plot of the book. NEET Culture Daito and his association with NEET culture is one of the most glaring examples of toxic Escapism, as it is the first time that the idea of living in the OASIS, as many people strive to do, is presented in a negative light both to the reader and to the characters themselves. NEET is a prominently known acronym or term in places like Japan which refers to a widely looked down upon population of people that range from teenage to middle aged, typically male, that are "Not In Education, Employment, or Training". They are often seen as not just lazy, but as having an unhealthy obsession with comic books, video games, manga, anime, or all of the above. Their prevalance in Japanese society is evident by the amount of social programs aimed at this particular population, and its common usage in Japanese pop culture (usually through characters of this population that are presented in a deragatory manner.) Daito, aka Toshiro Yoshiaki, represents a real life subset of this population called "hikikomori", though common NEET practices and obsessions are replaced solely with OASIS in Ready Player One, and their prevelance has become a full-blown epidemic due to the rising Energy Crisis in their post-apocalyptic dystopia. Hikikomori is one of the most severe real-life examples of toxic Escapism, as it refers to a severe social anxiety that can be brought about by a variety of factors that causes the sufferer to literally withdraw from society. They never leave their rooms, except to fulfill their physical needs, and suffer from self-hatred. They escape from this anxiety and self-hatred through Escapism; fully immersing themselves in digital forms of entertainment. While real life hikikomori often suffer from expectations from family, friends, work, and school, and other forms of daily pressure, Daito understandably withdraws from the problems that plague society as a whole, such as the Energy Crisis, global warming, and overpopulation. This is apparently so common that Daito meets his close friend and surrogate younger sibling, "Sho", in a hikikomori supprt group (ironically, on the OASIS.) Daito's personality as a character actually demonstrates some of the most common raits of Hikikomori. For example, hostility. It's not uncommon for hikikomori to become mentally unstable due to their mental turmoil and isolation. Most hikikomori still live with their parents, and can fly into wild fits of rage at the suggestion that they cease their NEET-like behavior or move out. Similarly, Daito shows extreme hostility to his online brother when Sho begins to worry about his mental health, and suggests he logs off the OASIS to cool down. Daito replies that they "should only have lives within the OASIS" and cuts Sho off for several days, retreating even further into isolation. Even his eventual murder in the novel (omitted in the movie, though hinted at in a brief scene, seemingly set in Japan, featuring a visibly distressed man who rage-quits out of the OASIS and runs toward a window of the high-story building) hints at the extreme mental distress hikikomori go through, as his death is quickly dismissed as yet another "NEET committing suicide due to depression" by news outlets. Category:Ready Player One Category:Escapism